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Indians-Tigers Preview

Sep 2, 2009 - 4:13 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Cleveland (58-72) at Detroit (69-61), 7:05 p.m. EDT

All it took for Aubrey Huff to break out of his slump since joining the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers was to face the Cleveland Indians.

Coming off his best game in a Tigers uniform, Huff looks to continue his hot hitting against the Indians and help his new club move 10 games above .500 for the first time in 11 weeks Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

Detroit (70-61) acquired Huff from Baltimore on Aug. 17 for right-hander Brett Jacobson, hoping the slugger could add some pop to an offense that ranks 10th in the AL in runs (605).

The trade didn't pay immediate dividends.

Huff batted .088 with one double and one RBI in his first 11 games with Detroit, before going 2 for 2 with a double, three RBIs and two walks in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Indians (58-73), who have lost three of four.

"I've been here a couple of weeks. It's nice to be able to contribute," Huff said.

Huff's performance against Cleveland was not unusual.

The designated hitter is batting .333 with three home runs, five doubles and 13 RBIs in nine games against the Indians since the start of last season.

With Tuesday's victory, the Tigers improved to 9-4 in the season series and remained 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place Minnesota in the Central. Detroit, seeking its first division title since winning the AL East in 1987, is trying to move 10 games above .500 for the first time since it was 41-31 on June 25.

Rick Porcello (11-8, 4.27 ERA) takes the ball for the Tigers looking to carry some momentum from a solid August into September.

After going 1-2 with an 8.79 ERA in three July starts, Porcello went 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA in six outings last month, yielding two runs or fewer in five of them.

"That's pretty impressive for a young kid," manager Jim Leyland said.

The 20-year-old rookie right-hander earned his first victory since Aug. 6 on Friday, allowing one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings of a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay.

Porcello will now try to win back-to-back starts for the first time since June 12 and 18. He's pitched well against the Indians, going 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts.

Cleveland counters with Aaron Laffey (7-3, 3.40), who is also coming off an impressive August.

Laffey went 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts last month, with the Indians winning each. The left-hander yielded three runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 5-4 victory over Baltimore on Thursday, but didn't receive a decision.

While Laffey is now growing more comfortable on the mound, he didn't have much luck in his only start of the season against the Tigers. At Comerica Park on May 2, Laffey was tagged for five runs, six hits and five walks in 3 1-3 innings of a 9-7 loss, though he did not get the decision.